Kensi and Deeks
by Arwen J Hui
Summary: A series of Densi oneshots in no particular order. Rated K-plus for slight if any language.
1. Pride

**First Densi one-shot! There will be more and they will be posted depending on my workload for summer classes. Please review.**

**Disclaimer: While I ship these two soooooo much, I do not own NCIS: Los Angeles or the characters.**

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"I don't need to be protected!" Kensi shouted. "I've taken care of myself for years and I think I'm doing okay!"

"You're right," Deeks said throwing his hands up in mock defeat. "You can take care of yourself, but you are far from okay." Putting his hands in his pockets, he sidled over to Kensi's desk and sat on the edge. "Talk."

"Oh, my God!" Kensi threw down the file in her hands. "You don't know when to drop it, do you?" She pushed her chair away from the desk and stomped off into the hall between the gym and the bullpen. With her back against the wall, she let out a long, frustrated sigh and ran her hands through her hair.

Once he was sure she had calmed down some, Deeks sauntered after her and rested on the opposite wall. "Again, you're right. I don't know when to drop it. It's another one of my charming albeit annoying qualities."

A few moments passed as the two of them stood silently in the dimly lit hallway. Finally, Kensi spoke up.

"I'm fine, Deeks," she said in a low voice.

Deeks left his wall and joined Kensi on hers leaning his shoulder against the wall. "Liar," he said flatly.

Turning to face him, Kensi said, "Maybe I'm not fine, but it's none of your business. I don't need anyone to protect me, especially you."

"Ouch," Deeks said faking a hurt tone.

"You know what I mean." Kensi crossed her arms and put on a serious face. "I don't need you to protect me."

"Yeah, you said that already, but how much truth is there in that? You may appear tough, hell you are tough. But you really are very vulnerable and you know what? That's okay."

"Seriously?" Kensi's anger was beginning to resurface and the volume of her voice was rising. "You're impossible, you know that? How about I put it this way: you can't always protect me."

"I can try," Deeks said maintaining an even tone.

"You are so infuriating! Nothing I'm saying is penetrating your thick skull! Yes, we're partners. I have your back and you have mine, but you can't be there twenty-four-seven." Kensi was practically shouting now, her face red from a mix of frustration and anger. "I've been held at gunpoint, I've been shot at and shot," Kensi counted off on her fingers. "I have survived multiple explosions, I have been hit by several cars and been in several fights. I've even been taken captive. Every single time I came out in one piece. I don't. Need. Protection." She placed extra emphasis on that last statement.

By now, she was fuming and shaking with anger at the fact that Deeks thought she was incapable of protecting herself, but the truth was that she was scared. She was scared out of her mind and it took everything she had to put on that brave mask. While she did put her life on the line everyday, she had never been in a situation where she was the target and she personally knew the person targeting her and his capabilities. The bottom line: she was in fear for her life and it was wreaking havoc on her emotions.

Deeks firmly gripped both of her trembling shoulders to calm her down. "Just let me help you, Kensi," he said looking her square in the face. "You say you're fine, but you're not. Can you please, just this once, let someone help you?" Kensi's reply was to vehemently shake her head no. She felt tears well up and tried holding them back, but her partner had already seen her eyes become glassy in the dim light of the wall lamps.

Deeks knew all too well that Kensi would never let anyone in OSP see her in this state; she was too prideful so, to avoid the prying eyes of the nosiest agents, he instinctively drew her into a tight hug. "I've got your back, Fern" he whispered. "We've all got your back."

Kensi let her arms fall to her sides and let herself fall into her partner's embrace. As she slowly inhaled and exhaled to regain her composure she couldn't help but notice a distinct mixture of scents: sand, ocean, and sunscreen. She knew that Deeks loved to surf but this smell made her wonder if he actually slept on the beach. The sound of his heartbeat even mimicked the crashing waves he loved to ride.

"Feeling better, Fern?" he asked when he felt her relax under his grip.

"Yeah," Kensi sniffled.

"Are you gonna let me help you?"

"Yes."

"Good choice."

"Hey, Deeks?"

"Yeah?"

"You can let me go now."

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**Not my best but it was two o'clock in the morning. I didn't want to change anything so I just checked it for spelling and grammar.**


	2. Day 0

**Sorry it took so long to post this! If you haven't read any of my other stories you wouldn't know that I was recently accepted into a nursing program so I have been busy making phone calls to get all kinds of certifications and stuff. My summer class is also in full swing (it's a semester's worth of work crammed into six weeks so it's intense) so postings will be less frequent. I will try to post once a week if I can.**

**I watched **_**Neighborhood Watch**_** again and it got me thinking, "What happened during the first few days Kensi and Deeks were undercover?" When the episode opened they had to be a few days, maybe a few weeks, into their cover. This is what I think went down during the their first few days undercover as a couple. I was flip-flopping between having this being told from either Deeks' or Kensi's POV but it became way too difficult so now you have this wonderful, disjointed thing before you that has been broken up into several short chapters! Yay! To start you off, this is them preparing for the op.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS: LA or the characters.**

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_Day 0_

This day started like any other. The sun was shining, agents were bustling about the Mission, and Kensi and Deeks were arguing. Today, they were arguing about a donut.

"I'm just saying," Deeks said, "how is it that someone so tiny eat so much? It's unearthly not to mention unhealthy."

"I am a grown woman, Deeks," Kensi retorted and she snatched the donut out of her partner's hand and took a huge bite. "I can eat whatever the hell I want."

"I was going to save that for later, you know. And for your information I totally would have shared."

"I don't like sharing," Kensi said shoving the rest of the donut into her mouth and smiling triumphantly. Deeks was about to push her off his desk when Hetty came in with a very serious look.

"Mr. Deeks, Miss Blye. My office, please." Kensi looked at Deeks questioningly and Deeks replied with a shrug. He gestured for Kensi to be the first to head towards Hetty's lair. Kensi quickly finished chewing the donut and swallowed before leading the way.

"Is there something wrong, Hetty?" Kensi asked slowly when she and Deeks were seated in front of Hetty's desk. Even though Hetty was small in stature, she looked menacing behind that desk.

"We have a new case," Hetty said folding her hands. "There is a Russian sleeper agent living in a small community and I am relying on you two to find him."

"Or her."

"Yes, Mr. Deeks, or her. I have already spoken to a friend in that community and he is very willing to let us use his house for our operation." With her letter opening, Hetty sliced open a large, manila envelope and poured the contents onto her desk: two case files, two passports, and two driver's licenses. "Your new identities," Hetty said handing over one passport and driver's license to Kensi and Deeks.

"Melissa Anne Waring," Kensi said reading her new license. "Do I look like a Melissa, Deeks?"

"Nope," Deeks said smiling at his license. "But I look very much like a Justin, Sugarbear."

Kensi glared at Deeks and hissed, "What did you call me?"

"Sugar. Bear." Deeks was practically beaming as he shoved his new license in Kensi's face. "We're married, Princess."

Kensi's jaw dropped in astonishment. "What!" she exclaimed, snatching the license from Deeks' hand.

"Better believe it, Darling," Deeks goaded.

"That reminds me," Hetty said removing two velvet pouches from her desk drawer and sliding them across her desk. "These are also yours," said Hetty. "Do _not_ lose these."

Inside the two pouches were rings. Deeks' was a thick gold band with some intricate scrollwork going around it. Kensi's pouch held two rings. The engagement ring was a thin gold band with three small diamonds embedded in it while the wedding ring was a slightly thicker band with a large diamond in the middle and two smaller diamonds on either side.

"This is a bad idea, Hetty," Kensi said slowly. As much as she feared defying Hetty, the thought of being married to Deeks, albeit under an alias, was horrifying.

"Nonsense," Hetty said waving away Kensi's comment. "You two are perfect for this. Assistant Director Granger actually recommended you two. Now," Hetty stood up from her seat, "if you will follow me to Wardrobe, we have some pictures to take for your backstopping."

"So," Deeks said coyly as he put one arm around Kensi. "I know we discussed this before but, how many kids are we going to have? Three? Four?"

"Take your arm off of me if you would like to keep it, Deeks," Kensi growled in a low voice.

"I love it when you're angry," Deeks cooed. "Your nose gets all scrunched up and - OW!" Kensi had twisted Deeks arm behind his back and was leading him into Wardrobe.

"Do try to keep the bickering to a minimum," Hetty warned as she got out her tape measure and pin cushion. "You are supposed to be a happily married couple."

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**Teehee. I can totally see Deeks egging on Kensi like this. I mean, he does it almost every episode which made this extremely easy to write.**


	3. Day 4

**SilverSentinal21 made a very good point about Callen and his Russian abilities and why Kensi didn't ask why he couldn't go under with her so I decided to address that issue here. Many thanks to you!**

**After thinking it through, I have decided to only do a total of five chapters for this storyline (**_**not**_** including Day 0). I'm afraid that if I drag it out too long I'll run out of ideas so I am taking my five best prompts and writing one-shots for them. This is the first of the five to come.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS: LA or the characters.**

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Stars peppered the sky outside the open window and a cool breeze blew through into the bedroom beyond. Only the crickets sang out into the night as everyone in the community slept. Everyone except Kensi Blye.

"Hetty, why can't Callen go undercover with me?" Kensi had asked. "He speaks Russian and has a better knowledge of the Russian community than Deeks and me combined. Plus, he has ties to some of the people."

"That's precisely the reason why he is not going undercover with you," Hetty had responded. "His ties to the Russian community means that he has a higher chance of being compromised. Also, the last time you and Mr. Callen worked together it left Mr. Hanna with Mr. Deeks and we both know that it did not go very well."

Kensi had conceded to this line of reasoning but with some resistance. Yes, she enjoyed working with Deeks but there were times that she wanted to rip his head clean off his shoulders. While there were days that he and Kensi could go without bickering, it was practically everyday that he didn't know when to shut up. He even talked in his sleep.

_Callen probably doesn't talk in his sleep_, Kensi thought as Deeks mumbled unintelligibly as he slept beside her. _Maybe I should smother him with a pillow. _This thought had run through Kensi's mind every night for the past three nights whenever Deeks woke her up with his sleep-talking or his snoring. She knew he couldn't help it but it annoyed her all the same so, in retaliation she hogged the blankets. Being wrapped in a cocoon of tangled blankets from head-to-toe provided protection from the cold and Deeks' occasional outbursts and put Kensi right back to sleep.

_Are you kidding me?_, complained Deeks in his head. Sunlight poured through the window and cast a shadow onto the wall of the mound of blankets beside him. _All the blankets? Really? Geez._ He was about to shake Kensi awake when she let out a small snort. A broad grin stretched across Deeks face and he slowly rolled out of the bed so as not to wake Kensi. He grabbed his phone and opened the camera app. "Here is proof," he whispered into the camera, "that Kensi Marie Blye snores and is a certified blanket hog." He tip-toed to the other side of the bed and aimed the lens at Kensi. He panned left and right to show the full extent of Kensi's blanket hogging and stopped at her face waiting for her to snort again.

When Kensi did snort again, Deeks had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing. "Don't believe her when she says she doesn't snore because you just heard it yourself. It's actually kind of a cute little snort," Deeks whispered. "Let's see what happens if I poke her." Taking his life into his own hands, Deeks extended his arm and, with his index finger, poked a sleeping Kensi's shoulder. The first poke didn't reach her through the layers of blankets so he pressed a little more.

"What do you want?" Kensi said withdrawing deeper into her warm cocoon with her eyes shut tightly.

"You were snoring," Deeks said still holding his phone to her face.

"I don't snore," she mumbled into the blankets.

"Oh, Sugarbear. You have no idea how wrong you are."

"Don't call me that," growled Kensi.

"What about Princess or Sweet Pea? Can I call you one of those names?"

"Go to hell."

"That's not a very nice thing to say to your loving husband especially when our kids will be watching this in a few years."

Kensi opened her eyes to look at Deeks. "What the hell are you talking about?" Then she caught sight of his phone. "I am going to kill you," she snarled as she untangled herself from the blankets. Deeks bolted from the spot and aimed the camera over his shoulder as Kensi shot out of bed and gave chase. "If I don't make it to work tomorrow," Deeks said into the camera, "just know that this was totally worth it!"

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**This one was fun to write. Let me know what you think!**

**One down, four to go.**


	4. Day 8

**The second **_**Neighborhood Watch**_** spawned one-shots! This is entirely from Kensi's POV and I think it's really cute. **

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Even though the sun is setting behind a row of houses it's still really hot. Of course I just finished my evening jog so that could account for something. With my ear buds still in my ears and my music playing, I turn my key in the front door and step inside. Cool air from the house's central air system washes over me making me much more comfortable. I don't see Deeks anywhere so I go upstairs to shower. God, how I need a shower. I turn on the shower, put my iPod on the counter, and throw my clothes into the hamper. The warm water is so inviting and I let it run over my aching muscles and wash all the sweat, grime, and stress down the drain. But my relaxation is cut short when the sound of the smoke alarm pierces my ears and the smell of something burning reaches my nose. I quickly turn off the water, wrap a towel around myself, and rush out of the bathroom to find the source of this burning smell.

_Where is that coming from?_ I wonder. I check the dryer down the hall but it's not the source so I head downstairs to the kitchen. I'm met by a cloud of smoke and the pungent smell of singed hair. The smoke makes my eyes water and causes me to cough so I try waving it out of my way with my hand.

"Crap!" I hear Deeks say.

"What the hell did you do?" I ask him angrily.

"You're back," he coughs. "I didn't hear you come in."

"Were you cooking?" I ask still coughing.

"Ah...I was trying," he says with his back to me as he fans the smoke alarm. "I thought it would be a nice change from the massive amounts of takeout we've been eating."

"What were you trying to make?" As I turn off the stove I can see evidence of burnt chicken under the grate. It's almost completely black and looks like the burner got the best of it.

"Chicken stir-fry," says Deeks as the smoke alarm finally turns off. When he turns around I can hardly keep myself from falling over with laughter.

"What are you wearing?" I ask trying to keep a straight face but I know I'm smiling like an idiot. Why shouldn't I? Of all the ridiculous things I've seen Deeks wear this takes the cake. He's wearing an apron which is funny enough but this particular apron looks like it was pulled straight out of a fifties sitcom with eyelet fabric all around the edges. To top it off, it has a red and white gingham pattern and it cut off just above Deeks' knees.

Deeks looks down at himself then back at me with a questioning look. "I should ask you the same thing," he says with one eyebrow raised.

"I thought the house was on fire," I tell him. "I didn't really have time to get dressed."

"Uh huh," he says eyeing me up and down. I pull the towel tighter around myself.

"Why are you wearing that apron?" I ask him before anything dirty can pop into his head.

"It was the only one in this house," he says. "I think I look sexy, don't you?" He strikes a pose and I laugh as he bats his eyes and puckers his lips.

"No," I say flatly. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go finish my shower. You need to clean all this up." I leave the kitchen but before I head back upstairs I grab my phone from the table by the front door and tip toe back to the kitchen. I peek around the corner to see if Deeks is looking and, making sure my phone is on silent, I snap a picture of Deeks in his apron and scurry back upstairs all the while giggling to myself.

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**Deeks in an apron...lol If Deeks made you dinner, would you eat it?**

**Just an update on me. If I don't upload anything for a bit it's because I have a 4.5 hour long CPR certification class on June 21st and I have to read through the entire book before hand and there's a written exam at the end of the class which makes it all the more daunting so I apologize in advance if I disappear for a bit. I'll update when I can and thanks for understanding!  
**


	5. Day 13

**It's another crappy, rainy day here and it's really starting aggravate me. I want sun! I want to sit outside and read my books or go swimming but noooooooooo. The weather has to be icky…*sigh* Icky weather = fluffy Densi/Keeks fanfic with grilling.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS: LA or the characters.**

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Another day of perfect LA weather; sunny, eighty degrees, and very little humidity. Combine this with burgers on the grill and a cold beer in hand and you have the perfect end to a hectic day of work which is exactly what Kensi and Deeks needed.

"No, seriously," Deeks said poking at the burgers with the tongs, "how do you think Hetty found out? And you can't say ninja."

"But she is a ninja," said Kensi sipping her beer. "There's really no other explanation. She just knows. Everything." She was about to bring the beer back up to her mouth when something red whizzed past her head and lodged itself in the side of the house causing her to drop the bottle onto the deck where it shattered.

"What the hell was that?" Deeks cried out dodging the splattering beer and glass.

Kensi walked to the house, pulled the mystery object out of the siding, and laughed. "You're not going to believe it," she said handing it over to Deeks.

Deeks turned the object over in his hand. "It's a throwing star," Deeks chuckled.

"It's made out of a Coke bottle cap. See?" She pointed at the partially visible white script on the red side. "I wonder who threw-" Suddenly another star flew at both Kensi and Deeks and fell to the deck covered in blood.

Deeks whipped around and caught sight of the Felton boys, the neighborhood terrors, spring from their hiding place and run.

"Those little-!"

"Easy, Melissa," Deeks said holding a finger to Kensi's lips. "They're just kids."

"No," Kensi said sucking at the cut on her hand and pointing with the other at the two boys running away. "Those two are devils. I swear their mom is oblivious to everything that they do."

"I'm not disagreeing. I wouldn't dare disagree with you," smiled Deeks. "But seriously, language," he scolded, leading Kensi inside to the family room to sit on the sofa. He disappeared for a minute and came back with a first aid kit and a fresh beer. "Let me see your hand," he said handing Kensi the beer and sitting down beside her.

Kensi reluctantly held out her injured hand to Deeks and nursed her beer as he inspected her palm. She couldn't help but laugh to herself as she watched Deeks gingerly poke at the flesh around the open wound. The way his brow furrowed in concentration was truly a sight to see because he could barely concentrate on eating his lunch.

"It's deep," Deeks said gently placing her hand on his knee, "but not so deep that you need stitches." He unzipped the red first aid pouch and took out alcohol pads, antibiotic ointment, and bandages. With an alcohol pad in one hand and Kensi's injured hand in the other he warned, "This is going to sting. A lot."

"Just do it," Kensi said taking a huge swig of beer.

"Promise not to hit me?"

"I promise."

A burning pain shot up Kensi's arm from her hand but she didn't cry out because almost immediately after Deeks swept the pad over the cut he blew on it making her skin tingle. He put a generous amount of antibiotic ointment onto a bandage and neatly wrapped up Kensi's hand.

"Done," he said with a smile. "Feeling better?"

"Much," Kensi replied taking another sip from her beer. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'll call Jane about this tomorrow."

"I say we just show up at her house with the bloody stars and show her my hand right now." Kensi relished that idea. Even though she and Deeks had been at the house for only two weeks, she had wanted to tell Jane Felton that her sons were terrors since day one when they pelted her car with water balloons as she was driving, but that would have to wait. "De-...uh...Justin? Something's burning."

"Crap!" Deeks shouted and he ran outside to tend to the burning burgers.

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**And now I'm hungry. Yay for Dr. Deeks! I like writing these fluffy fanfics. It makes me happy :3 I didn't even plan the whole thing about Hetty being a ninja and the homemade throwing stars. I actually used to make my own throwing stars out of bottle caps (that's what inspired this oneshot), but I wasn't stupid enough to throw them at people. Anybody have little terrors like the Felton boys in their neighborhood?**

**Two more to go for these **_**Neighborhood Watch**_** inspired oneshots. Let me know in the reviews if you want to hear about anything specific for the last one!**


	6. Day 21

**This one is fluffy. Like, super fluffy. Imagine thousands of tiny, little pink and blue cotton candy monsters scaling you like you're Mount Everest and then enveloping your body to the point where you have no choice but to eat your way out of your captivity. Yeah...it's like that. At least that's how I felt when I read this over prior to posting. I apologize if you get cavities.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS: LA or the characters. I just ship...a lot...**

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I really can't complain about this op. I get to stay in a nice house in an almost equally nice neighborhood, drive a nice car, and spend my evenings with an amazing woman. She embodies all that is awesome and, even when she's pissed off and ripping me a new one, she can make me smile. Yes, this woman can take me down blindfolded with her hands tied behind her back. She can even kill me with a spork made entirely out of blue raspberry Jell-O, but she can do it while still looking glamorous. Those are some of the many reasons why I was so attracted to her in the first place.

Another reason why I'm drawn to her is not her beauty (although it does play a small role) but it's the fact that she isn't flawless. I mean, we all come with _some_ baggage but hers is a little different from everyone else's. She lost her father in high school and knew in her gut that his death wasn't an accident. As soon as she joined NCIS, she latched onto the case like a pit bull and didn't let go until she finally caught her father's killer. She was also estranged from her mother for years, but she eventually repaired that relationship. She also collects and keeps everything. What people see as terrible, annoying faults I see as adorable, endearing quirks. Granted she does drive me up the wall occasionally, but that's just the game she plays although sometimes I can't tell if she's toying with me or actually conveying genuine feelings for me.

Take this very moment for example. We're sitting on the family room couch sharing a giant bowl of popcorn as we watch _Raiders of the Lost Ark_. She's never seen it before so I finally convinced her to watch it with me tonight and so far she hasn't gotten up for anything (during the last movie we watched she kept leaving to get something or other while I kept nodding off). As the credits start rolling she stretches out like a cat (a really sexy and limber cat) and turns to me. "I can't believe we didn't watch this sooner," she says. She looks at her watch and asks, "One more movie before bed?"

"Sure," I tell her. "Your pick." I already know which movie she's going to choose so I throw the blanket over myself and settle in for one hundred and ninety-four glorious minutes of James Cameron's _Titanic_. Instead of sitting back down on the far end of the couch like before, she lifts the blanket and curls up right next to me.

Now, Hetty warned us that us "such and intimate assignment" could "bring about unfamiliar feelings and emotions". For me, that statement is completely false. I have no "unfamiliar feelings" for Kensi. The feelings I have are very familiar and every time Kensi pulls something like this, they crop up to the surface and, for the sake of the op and my life, I have to shove them back down and pray that they don't resurface. To make things worse, we've slept in the same bed for weeks and every single night I find myself wishing that this op wasn't an op. I want to wake up next to her as her real husband, not some schmuck named Justin Waring.

About thirty minutes into _Titanic_, I doze off and when I wake up the credits are rolling and Kensi' is asleep beside me. Her head is resting on my shoulder and those soft, long brown waves drape over my chest. I watch as her chest rises and falls with every breath she takes and those feelings crop right back up. This time I don't bother pushing them down. I kiss the top of her head as she sleeps and it causes her to stir but she doesn't wake up. Smiling to myself and knowing I'll pay for it come morning, I wrap my arm around her and close my eyes hoping that she stays asleep.

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**Short and sweet! I love it! Please review!**

**There's only one more of these to go! If any of you want to hear anything specific for the last **_**Neighborhood Watch**_** oneshot, let me know in the reviews. **


	7. Day 32 Post Op

**I'm baaaack! I know it's really, really, super-duper late but I had my CPR certification class (and passed), my orientation, my family came from VA so we went to see Wicked and then walked around Manhattan for a while, family from MI came for a week and we did a lot of stuff together, and I had to find the cheapest place to get all of my nursing books for school. I basically had a lot of stuff going on and no time to write. Oh, and my laptop decided to just go **_**pbbt**_** and die so I lost everything :'( I'm currently in the process of recovering the files that I **_**can**_** retrieve and saving them to an external hard drive. I should really start saving things to a cloud drive...**

**Here we are! The last of the Neighborhood Watch inspired oneshots! Have no fear for I will continue to write oneshots (or stories...maybe...still not sure) for these two.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS: LA or the characters.**

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LAPD Detective Marty Deeks sleepily shuffled into the bedroom and plopped down onto the bed. He shut his eyes tight against the light he was too tired to turn off. His exhaustion was due to the very hellacious night he experienced not to mention the three hour long debriefing he had just gone through which was tedious beyond belief. He didn't know there were so many ways someone could ask who shot at him. They made him tell and re-tell the entire chain of events from start to finish.

After a month of living in suburbia on the hunt for a Russian sleeper agent, not one, but four came out of the woodwork and three of them just tried to kill Kensi and him. Serena Miller, the fourth Russian agent, had wanted out and this caused the series of events leading up to the night's shooting. _And look where that got her_, Deeks thought. _It's like something out of a movie_.

He opened his eyes and tried following one of the fan blades as it went around and around on the ceiling. Much to his chagrin, he was abruptly broken out of this trance by a t-shirt falling onto his face.

"Get up, Deeks," Kensi ordered from across the room. She started pulling open the dresser drawers and throwing the contents into her suitcase.

"Can I have five minutes?" Deeks said, his voice muffled by the t-shirt still on his face.

"The sooner we pack, the sooner we can go home," Kensi said.

"But we are home," he yawned from beneath the shirt.

Kensi rolled her eyes and continued packing. "Moron," she muttered.

"I heard that," Deeks said pointing his finger accusingly in Kensi's general direction. Still lying down, he pulled the shirt off of his face and said, "I'd rather stay here. This bed is so comfortable."

"Hetty said we have to be out." Kensi stepped over to the side of the bed and stood over Deeks. "Are you on top of my pajamas?"

"Dunno," he yawned.

"Get up," Kensi said slightly irritated.

"But I don't want to," Deeks whined. He let out a long groan as Kensi rolled him over onto his stomach so she could grab her pajamas. "Really?" he cried into the mattress. "Was that really necessary?"

"I want to go home, but you can stay if you want," Kensi shrugged. She returned to the dresser and started emptying the next drawer.

"I just want to sleep," Deeks whined while rolling into his back.

"Deeks," Kensi said zipping up her suitcase. "I have neither the patience nor the energy to put up with you right now. If you want to sleep here tonight by yourself, by all means, go right ahead. Just know that I'm taking the only working car."

"What happened to the other one?" Deeks asked.

"It took a few bullets to the engine," Kensi said with a hand on her hip.

"Fine," he huffed as he rolled off the bed. "Give me a few minutes to pack."

...

"Kensi!" Deeks called down the stairs. "Have you seen my shirt?"

"You're going to have to be more specific," Kensi said rubbing her eyes. She could deal with being shot at but the three hour long debriefing following the incident was torture and it was almost two-thirty in the morning now. She really just wanted to go home and sleep.

"My LAPD t-shirt. It's dark blue, faded yellow logo, big ass hole on the left sleeve."

"No," Kensi yelled back. "Do you really need it? If there's a hole in it, just toss it. It has no use."

"Says the girl with a collection of seventy-two jelly bracelets, a stuffed cobra, and God knows what else in your house," he retorted.

"Do you need help?" she called up the stairs from the couch.

"If you would be so kind."

Kensi pushed herself up from the couch and began searching the house. She started in the laundry room opening and closing the washer and dryer. She just finished checking the hampers when a thought occurred to her. She went back to the foyer, unzipped her duffel, and began rummaging through the tangled mess of clothes.

Deeks was ready to turn the bed inside out when he heard Kensi's voice carry up the stairs saying that she found his shirt. Picking up his bag he quickly surveyed the rest of the bedroom for anything he might have missed then went downstairs.

"Where was it?" he asked upon arriving in the family room.

"It must have gotten mixed up with my stuff in the wash this morning," Kensi said handing him his very worn t-shirt.

"Uh huh," Deeks said with slight disbelief. He took his shirt from Kensi and brought it to his nose. "It doesn't smell like it's been washed recently," he said raising an eyebrow. For good measure he took another sniff. "It smells like you, actually, mixed with...is that nail polish remover?"

Kensi quickly looked away and busied herself with adjusting her watch.

"You wore my shirt?"

"I ran out of junk shirts and I didn't want to get nail polish on my good shirts."

"Why on earth were you doing your nails?"

"Well," Kensi started slowly. "I had to look somewhat presentable when we went to Brett and Polina's place."

Deeks looked down at Kensi's hands. "But your nails aren't colored."

"They were supposed to be silver but I didn't like the feeling of it," Kensi replied quickly. "So I took it off."

"Okay," said Deeks with some finality. He neatly folded the shirt and put it into his bag. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah." Kensi felt her cheeks get hot as the blood rushed to her face. Luckily, Deeks was turning off the lights and she was already heading out to the car.

As he turned off the lights, Deeks couldn't help but smile. Kensi had worn his shirt and she had lied (horribly) about it. This combined with that kiss, that wonderful, spontaneous kiss, made him feel that the last two years of hard work had finally paid off.

* * *

**Hullo thereeee! This is Arwen's little sister! :) How are you lovely people? I've heard so much about you guys and I just wanted to say hello! :3 Arwen likes to tell me whenever she gets a new follower or review on her stories and she's always very excited about it. Just to give you little information about myself: I like cows, food, drawing, and One Direction (but not necessarily in that order). I don't write fan fiction but I do enjoy helping my sister write hers. And now back to my sister! Remember to stay awesome and pleeeeaseeee reviewww (for me, pleaseeee?). **

**Lots of love,**

**Keelan ~3**

**I hate this, I really do. This is probably the worst thing I've ever written, but I left you guys hanging for so long that I had to post something! I was heavily debating on having them wind up together but after much consideration and discussion with Keelan, I decided to leave it like this. If you're disappointed, then I'm sorry but I would prefer to follow the plotline that has already been set in place by the writers. Don't worry, though. I will continue to write for these two.**

**A/N: Keelan wants it on the record that she wanted me to say "play clothes" instead of "junk shirts".**


	8. Pride Part II

**The plot bunnies have been begging me to write this and it's finally here! They've also been hounding me for chocolate and cotton candy...one of them wants a chocolate pool. I had to deny him that.**

**Title is self-explanatory.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS: LA or the characters.**

* * *

It had been nearly twelve days since Kensi Blye had gotten a good night's sleep. Each day ended with the same struggle to try and sleep. A hot shower, tea, and sleep aids did nothing to help. Every night, no matter how hard she tried to relax, Kensi found herself tossing and turning into the wee hours of the morning and nodding off for three hours at the most. More than once her fellow agents shook her awake at her desk despite the excessive, not to mention impressive, amounts of coffee she chugged down every morning.

This lack of sleep took a toll on Kensi in all aspects of her life. Her intelligent brain was fogged, her normally sharp senses were dulled, her strong and agile body ached, and her temper was shorter than ever. Her work was affected, too. She was so far behind on case reports that her inbox was piled higher than Deeks', which was not something easily done.

"Miss Blye." Hetty's sharp tone pierced Kensi's brain fog. "Please, go home. You need to rest."

"I'm too freaked out to sleep, Hetty," Kensi croaked, her voice hoarse from the acidic coffee.

"Then take the protective detail or check into a hotel under an alias," Hetty said clasping her hands in an almost pleading sort of way. "Please. You are beyond drained. I cannot have you working in this condition." There was no response from Kensi as she had nodded off...again. "Oh, for heaven's sake. Mr. Deeks!"

Like a child not wanting to be scolded for tardiness, Deeks quickly appeared in the bullpen at full attention.

"What's up, Hetty?"

"Mr. Deeks, please take home Miss Blye."

"I don't want to go home," Kensi complained from her desk with her head in her arms.

"You _will_ go home, Miss Blye," Hetty said crossing her arms and straightening up. "That is an order."

"Fine," Kensi said groggily while taking up her bag. "If I'm going home, I want that protective detail. Maybe I can finally get some sleep." She yawned loudly. "Who's going to protect me?"

"Mr. Deeks will act as your protective detail."

Kensi looked at Hetty questioningly. "But what about - "

"Rest assured we will find Greg Mathers and arrest him."

Kensi wanted to protest; she felt that Deeks should be out in the field or at least at OSP looking for Greg Mathers rather than babysitting her but she was too tired. Plus, she didn't want to anger Hetty. She was already pushing the envelope as it was with her complaining and constant nodding off. Conceding to Hetty's demands, Kensi gathered up her things and headed towards the garage with Deeks trailing closely behind her.

...

"What ever happened to letting us help you?" Deeks asked as they pulled out of the Mission.

"Can we not go into this again? Please? I'm letting you take me home, isn't that enough?"

There were a few moments of silence but eventually Deeks had to ask the question again only he phrased it a little differently this time.

"Couldn't you just stay in a hotel? You might actually get a good night's rest."

"I'm not about to let some delusional freak scare me out of my own house. Now stop asking." Kensi plunked her head against the window, crossed her arms, and shut her eyes hoping Deeks would take the hint and leave her alone.

_Why do you do this to yourself, Deeks? Why do you bother trying argue with her when she's like this?_

In an attempt to calm Kensi down, Deeks drove around aimlessly for a good hour and half stopping only to get junk food for Kensi and coffee for himself. When he pulled up to the curb in front of her house, she was fast asleep in the passenger seat. He hated to wake her because she was doing that twitching thing with her nose that she always does, but he had to get her inside or else he'd be disobeying Hetty's orders which was something he tried to avoid at all costs; he was more afraid of Hetty than he was of Kensi. Besides, if Kensi wanted to bite of his face, all he had to do was offer her food and she's be fine.

"Kensi, wake up," Deeks said softly. "Kensi," he said a little louder. Finally, he placed his hand on her shoulder which, in hind sight, was a very bad idea. Almost as soon as he touched her, Kensi twisted his arm and pointed her gun at him. "Easy, Kensi," Deeks said, slowly lowering Kensi's hands. "It's just me."

"Sorry," she said holstering her gun. "I panicked."

"Yeah, I figured. Let's get you inside before you shoot someone for real."

Once inside, Deeks didn't let Kensi leave her seat on the couch until he cleared the house room by room and by the time he got back, she was curled into a ball and her breathing had slowed. Without waking her, he draped the little throw blanket over her and set to arranging the Hostess snacks into a little pyramid on the kitchen table. His Twinkie tower was almost complete when he heard a loud crash followed by the sound of a car alarm. This sound woke Kensi from her light sleep and she was prepared to draw her weapon when Deeks told her to stay in the house.

Kensi reluctantly set down her gun on the coffee table while Deeks went outside to investigate. With his hand on his gun, Deeks made long strides down the lawn to the sidewalk and scanned up and down the street. Three houses down, a little white Beetle's lights were blinking and its alarm was blaring. It drew the attention of several neighbors including the car's owner, a now very distraught teenage girl. His senses still on high alert, Deeks turned on his heel to go to the scene but stopped dead in his tracks when he heard his name.

...

"DEEKS!" Kensi screamed, putting her whole weight against the door. "DEEKS!" _It was a stupid move not to check if Deeks was at the door_, she thought, scolding herself._ If I could just reach my gun_.

Kensi decided to take the risk and lunged for her gun on the nearby coffee table. She rolled over onto her back and took the shot but missed Mathers by a hair. She fired again and this time grazed Mathers' thigh.

"Why would you shoot me, darling?" he asked, his voice even and gentle as he kicked Kensi's gun from her hands and pulled a revolver from his belt.

"DEEKS!" Kensi screamed again, scrambling to get away.

A split second later Deeks came barging into the house, gun drawn and adrenaline pumping. "LAPD, Mathers!" he roared. "Drop the weapon and put your hands behind your head."

But he was too late. Mathers had got off a shot that hit Kensi just above the hip and he took the butt of the gun to her head. Without a second thought Deeks threw himself onto Mathers and wrestled him to the floor, punching him the entire way down. With Mathers out cold and cuffed, Deeks rushed over to Kensi as she faded in and out of consciousness.

"Eric!" Deeks shouted as soon as he was connected. "Get a bus to Kensi's house now!"

"Already on the way, Deeks," Eric replied. "How is she?"

"She's fading in and out," Deeks said shakily. As he put pressure on Kensi's wound hot, dark red blood was creeping out between his fingers and he searched frantically for something to help him stop it. "Hang in there, Kensi," he said. "Stay with me."

The last thing Kensi remembered before blacking out was pain, pain and Deeks calling her name, pain and those piercing blue eyes pleading for her to stay awake.

* * *

**DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN! CLIFFHANGER! Do you hate me? Yeah, I hate me, too. Blame the plot bunnies because they kind of went kaput after this.**


	9. Pride Part III

**Awww, you guys! I'm touched by the reviews *happy dance* I know you're probably wondering what happens next so I won't keep it away from you any longer**.

* * *

_My head... Why does my head hurt?_ In her heavily sedated state, Kensi could barely open her eyes. No matter how hard she tried it felt like anvils were weighing them down, so instead she listened, but even her hearing was a little foggy. That combined with her drug addled brain made it near impossible to hear the doctor speak to the other person in the room.

"...major…concussion…...some damage…blood loss…stable."

"That's good."

_I know that voice_. "Deeks?" Kensi called out weakly. Her eyes still wouldn't open, but she felt the air move as he rushed to her side.

"Hey. You're up," Deeks said softly, sliding his hands out of his pockets. "How you feeling?"

"Tired," said Kensi barely moving her lips. "I can't really move."

"That would be the anesthesia. Doc says it'll take a few hours to leave your system completely so you'll be a little groggy until then."

"How - "

"How about you get some sleep, okay?" She felt his hand grasp hers and squeeze it reassuringly. "I'll tell you everything when you're a little more lucid, alright, partner?"

"Fine," Kensi said letting the drugs pull her back to sleep.

...

As Kensi began to wake, the first of her senses to completely return was her hearing. She could hear the rhythmic beeping of her heart monitor, a gentle hum coming from the air conditioning unit by the window, and slow, steady breathing. _Who is that?_ Next to return was her sense of touch. She realized someone was holding her hand but she had no idea whom. The person's hand was smooth except for a few scabs here and there. As for her other hand, she felt part of a cast going across her palm.

Next was her sense of smell. Under the strong hospital smell there was a distinct mixture of saltwater and sand. There was also gunpowder and rubbing alcohol.

Finally, her eyes adjusted to the dim light of her room and she could make out the time on the digital wall clock: eleven a.m.. _Damn. It's been a day? _Another quick sweep of the room and her eyes came to rest upon the silhouette of her shaggy haired partner. She could just make out the rise and fall of his back as he slept in his chair with his head on his arm as it rested on the bed. _For once he's quiet_, Kensi thought laughing to herself. _Of course I have to be lying in a hospital bed for him to be quiet_. Suddenly, Deeks stirred in his sleep. His muscles contracted causing his hand to squeeze Kensi's.

"Kensi," Deeks murmured. Eventually, he relaxed.

A wave of realization hit Kensi. _He never went home._ She was right. His clothes were the same as when they left the Mission except for a few tears and..._is that blood?_ After slowly mad gingerly freeing her hand from Deeks' grasp, Kensi carefully lifted one of the blond waves from Deeks' face and saw a row of five temporary stitches just below his hairline. Closer examination revealed that there was a cut on his nose and a Band-Aid on his right cheek. His hands were cut on the backs and there was dried blood under his nails. _He looks like hell._ Kensi let down the lock of hair and smiled to herself. _I'm surprised Hetty hasn't tried to make him cut it._ It was true; sometimes Marty Deeks' surfer-hobo chic look didn't work well with certain ops. He couldn't pull off the clean cut business man as well as Sam or Callen. His hair was just too long, too shaggy, too..._fluffy. That's what Sam said when we were looking into those MMA guys._

She thought back to that day. She had just met Deeks but at the time he called himself Jason Wyler. He looked exactly the same as he did today minus the cuts and Band-aids. He seemed likable enough but something about him set him apart from the other suspects in the gym. Of course now she knew it was because he was an undercover cop at the time and that was what set off her Spidey-senses.

_Callen said something about him, too. What was it?_ She wracked her still fuzzy brain for that memory in an effort to shake it loose. "Maybe it was his baby blues," Callen had teased. _Typical, Callen._ It was typical of Callen to make a comment like that; he loved teasing her whenever he got the chance. At the time Kensi just brushed it off, but something about it struck a chord. Since then, she ignored any comments Callen or Sam made about her and Deeks. _They're like the annoying older brothers I never had,_ she always thought.

Kensi was about to go back to sleep when her gurgling stomach caught her attention. Next to Deeks stood a rolling table with a covered tray. Carefully sliding her hand out of Deeks' grasp, she lifted the cover and found chicken, rice, and broccoli and all of it was still a little warm. What she didn't find was the Jell-O she was hoping for. Upon further inspection of the room, she found a spoon and an empty Jell-O cup on her side-table.

"Bastard ate my Jell-O," she whispered.

"You ate mine first," Deeks yawned into the mattress.

"What are you talking about?" Kensi asked not quite understanding him. Maybe it was the drugs.

Deeks brought himself up into a sitting position. "You really don't remember?" he asked. Kensi took a moment to think. "Don't hurt yourself thinking. Doc says you have a concussion."

She shot him an angry glare but she did manage to remember. "That was years ago," she protested. "And I bought you Jell-O afterwards."

"Touché," Deeks chuckled. "I'll buy you Jell-O then when you're out of here. Happy?"

"Yes." Kensi could feel herself getting sleepy again so she decided to ask Deeks the list of questions she had before falling asleep. "What happened with Mathers?"

"Well," Deeks said, meaning onto the bed. "What do you remember?"  
"I remember getting shot and getting hit the head."

"I came in right after that. I shot Mathers, knocked him out, and cuffed him. Then I took care you."

"What did the doctor say?"

"Bullet was a through-and-through and you lost some blood. Luckily you're hard headed so there's no serious damage to your skull which is fortunate."

"Jerk," Kensi said as she punched his shoulder.

"What? It's a good thing!"

"Where's Mathers now?"

"Interrogation-slash-psych-eval at the boat shed."

There was a moment of silence as Kensi took all of this in. Finally she turned to Deeks. "You look like hell."

"And you're looking as glamorous as ever," he said smiling broadly which confused Kensi. "I'm gonna go see if I can take you home." He stood up, stretched, and made for the nurses station. When reached the threshold Kensi called after him.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," she murmured.

Deeks shrugged and smiled. "We're partners, Kensi. That's what we do."

* * *

**Ahh! I'm so happy! This came out waaaay better than I anticipated and I totally didn't see a three-parter coming :3 Lemme know what you think**.


	10. Change

**Um...fair warning...FEELS!**

**Disclaimer: Blah, blah, I don't own NCIS: LA, blah blah…blah.**

* * *

It was a typical Tuesday morning complete with pleasant coffee aroma clouds wafting through the air and mingling with the general buzz of the Mission and the agents. Eric was up in OPs click-clacking away on his computer, Nell was off modifying a motherboard, Callen and Sam were discussing their cars, and Kensi and Deeks were fighting. But for probably the first time in the history of "Densi", as Callen called them, they weren't fighting with each other.

"This isn't fair!" Deeks protested.

"I agree," said Kensi as she crossed her arms angrily. "And we never agree. On anything."

"Ever."

"Hetty, is this really necessary?"

"I'm afraid it is, Miss Blye," Hetty said sadly. "Assistant Director Granger insists that these orders be completed by next Monday. I don't like it just as much as you two, but this comes from higher up in the chain of command."

"Is it Director Vance?" Kensi and Deeks asked in unison.

"No, it is not. SecNav gave the order to Director Vance who gave it to Assistant Director Granger who gave it to me. Now, Director Vance managed to buy more time for you two."

"And how's that?" Deeks asked, slouching down in the chair.

"SecNav originally gave you until tomorrow morning." Hetty folded her hands on her desk and sighed. "Please try to understand that changes, most of the time unwanted and unnecessary, come with new administration." The three of them sat in Hetty's office in complete silence for a few minutes, hoping the buzz of the Mission would drown out their thoughts.

"Hetty, you know I don't like new people," Kensi sighed. "Why did it have to be us?"

"It probably has something to do with me being LAPD and not NCIS," Deeks offered. "New SecNav probably thinks I'm beneath all of you."

"That most certainly is *not* the reason, Mr. Deeks," Hetty said rather sharply. "And you certainly are not beneath any of us. You're just as good as anyone here, even better than some."

In spite of this major compliment from Hetty, Deeks just huffed and sunk further into his chair. "It's just for a few weeks, right?" he asked.

"From what I'm told, yes, but it's not set in stone."

"I guess we can hack it for a while. What do you think?"

"I guess," Kensi huffed.

"Thank you," Hetty sighed. "Here is the new agent's file." Hetty shooed the pair of them out of her office and began to make several angry phone calls.

"Think this new agent will be anywhere as good as me?" Deeks said playfully. "I mean, I know training a rookie agent can be hard but I must have been the fastest learner and I'm not even an agent."

"And your ego has now doubled in size once again," Kensi laughed. "Think there will be enough room in your tiny squad car for it and your new partner?"

"She'll get used to it."

"She? What makes you so sure your new partner is a woman?"

"Because I'm just that good," he said in a semi-sultry voice. This earned him and elbow to the gut.

...

Three weeks passed at an annoyingly slow pace and Kensi had spent the last few days sitting at her desk twirling her pens around in her hand. Her new partner, an Alexander Lancaster, was annoying and uninteresting with a pedantic air about him. Thanks to some discrete digging done by Nell and Eric, they learned that all of this was due to the fact that he was the nephew of the new SecNav. He tried everyday to order Kensi around but she stood her ground and gave it right back to him despite his situation. One day she lost it completely and started to shout at him in the middle of the bullpen.

"I wouldn't give a rat's ass if you were the freaking Pope. You can get off your ass and get yourself some coffee and make your own copies and get your shit from the printer. I outrank you, Alex, and you best respect me or I swear on all that is holy that I will drop kick your ass from here to Sydney without giving it a second thought." She stomped off to the gym but not before knocking down the pile of files that sat in Alex's inbox and shoving his feet off of the desk. Without changing her clothes, Kensi gloved up and began to pummel the sandbag that hung from the ceiling.

It had been a while since Kensi had gotten that angry at anybody. Sam supposed she'd been keeping it all in while Callen was just glad Kensi exploded when she did. If she hadn't, Callen would have shot Alex from his desk without blinking an eye. That certainly would have brightened everyone's day.

Hetty cautiously approached Kensi as she threw punch after punch at the sandbag. She didn't want to tell her this but it was better to tell her while she was engaged in anger release than in an office. "Miss Blye," Hetty called.

"I'm sorry, Hetty, but this really isn't a good time."

"On the contrary, I think this is the perfect time."

"What is it?" Kensi said without stopping her punches.

"I regret to inform you that you will be with Alex for much longer than you anticipated."

Kensi stopped and turned around to face Hetty. "Are you serious?"

"I'm afraid so. And," Hetty said holding up her hand to keep Kensi from protesting, "I am very much aware of that simpleton's situation. It's quite an abuse of power in my opinion." Hetty stepped closer and lowered her voice to a barely audible whisper. "I've already taken it up with the Director and Legal to see if there is any literature that is against this sort of thing." She cleared her throat and motioned for Kensi to continue beating the sandbag.

…

It seemed that Kensi's little outburst lit a fire, granted the smallest of fires, under Alex's ass. He was ordering Kensi and the others around a lot less but his attitude didn't change and he still went out of his way to make everyone miserable. Hetty found nothing so far from her secret team-up with Vance and his legal team but it'd only been a few days; the amount of documents that had to be read was overwhelming and all the confusing and roundabout legal jargon didn't help one bit. The team often heard her cursing in French when they didn't hear Lancaster bragging about anything and everything. Kensi was significantly less tense but now she devoted the time she wasn't working on a case to skulking about the Mission and curling up on the couch and sleeping. She gradually stopped smiling and it became more and more difficult for Callen and Sam to get even a smirk to cross her face. Eventually they stopped trying.

"Hey," Callen said one day. "We miss him, too."

"Yeah," Kensi said glumly as she rolled her pencil back and forth across her desk. "I know."

"Want to go a round on the mats? I promise I won't hold back."

"No, thanks," she replied glumly.

Not wanting to push it, Callen shrugged and walked back to his desk. "I'll be here if you change your mind." He went back to flipping through a file but would glance up at Kensi once in a while to assess her.

The last time G saw her this depressed was after Dom died and she did bounce back from it but she wasn't completely herself. She was a bit more jaded and had a more cynical outlook on everything. When Deeks joined the team, G saw the old Kensi come back. She was happy to have something to do even if it was essentially babysitting the world's greatest pain in the ass. Deeks was a different kind of partner than Dom. While Dom was still young, he knew when he needed to buckle down and work whereas Deeks had absolutely no idea when to focus and, on the off chance that he did focus, he was easily distracted. It became Kensi's job to reel him back in and she took delight in it especially if she could inflict physical pain upon his poor, unsuspecting shaggy surfer head. Now that he was gone, Kensi was thoroughly miserable. She already yelled her lungs out at Lancaster more times than he could count and she actually ripped a hole in the sandbag in the gym from the amount of time she spent beating the crap out of it. In short, Kensi Blye was grieving and, at present, she was undeniably stuck in the fourth stage.

Believe it or not, "depressed Kensi" was far more terrifying than "angry Kensi". If you didn't handle her carefully she could blow up in your face like a firecracker you didn't throw away fast enough. Nobody liked seeing her this withdrawn more than Nell so as the second month without Deeks drew to a close, she took the initiative and scheduled her own intervention. On Saturday morning, she strapped in her two year old son, Scott, into his car seat and drove across town to Kensi's house. She rang the doorbell several times and called out for Kensi to answer the door but all of this was in vain so finally she convinced her son to bang on the door.

"AUNT KENSI! AUNT KENSI! AUNT KENSI!" he shouted as he pounded on the door with his little fists. "Let me in!"

Kensi couldn't ignore Scott, not her sweet and adorable godson, so she rolled out of bed and opened the door. "How do you ask?" she asked from behind the screen.

"Please?" Scott asked sweetly. Kensi unlatched the screen and opened it out for Scott who jumped through the threshold and hopped up and down with his arms in the arm for Kensi to pick him up. "Kisses?" he asked. Kensi obliged, picked him up, and planted a kiss on his cheek. "My turn," he said brightly. He leaned forward, kissed Kensi's nose, and for the first time in two months she smiled.

"You play dirty, Nell," Kensi said putting Scott down.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Nell said as she helped Scott take off his racecar backpack. He happily dragged it across the living room to the small coffee table and pulled out his crayons and coloring book. "Alright," Nell said, sitting herself down on the couch. "Don't tell me you're fine because I know and you know that you are far from it."

Kensi remained silent and watched Scott as he growled like a dinosaur and colored in a t-red with a bright purple crayon. _Like Barney_, she thought to herself and she flashed back two years to the time she accidentally turned Deeks' shirts purple. "I looked like Barney the dinosaur," he had complained to Eric. Her mind flashed forward a bit to the night she kissed him at that psych couple's house. For weeks she told herself she did it for the sake of the op, to make him shut up, and she eventually forgot about it but now she wasn't so sure.

"I miss him," Kensi mumbled.

"We all miss him, Kensi," Nell said.

"Yeah, but when do I ever miss him? He's a constant pain in the butt and he never shuts up about anything. Remember the picture of him on a camel?"

Nell laughed and nodded. "Well it's been a few weeks. Absence does make the heart grow fonder, even in this case." Kensi raised an eyebrow at this. "What I mean is you used to see him everyday and now you haven't seen him or talked to him for a while. Your routine is off."

"That makes sense," Kensi said folding her arms and sitting back into the couch.

"Plus, Lancaster's a giant jackass," Nell whispered. "How about this?" she asked in her normal voice. "Why don't you call him and ask him to meet up for coffee or something? You guys can catch up and you can start smiling again." Nell's phone suddenly chimed. "Oh, geez," she sighed as she saw the text message.

"Eric set fire to the kitchen again?"

"Worse. My sister showed up a day early." Nell sighed and told Scott to pack up his things. "Seriously, Kensi," Nell said as she zipped up Scott's backpack. "Call Deeks."

So she did.

* * *

**Oh, Sandy, you silly hurricane. You took my power and cable and left me with nothing but wonderful books to read. I read **_**Pride and Prejudice**_** for the umpteenth time and then this little chapter came out. I know Kensi seems a little more emotional than she will probably ever be but I like writing Kensi as vulnerable. It's different. Let me know what you think.**

**Hey, hey! It's Keelan! If you can guess my age, I will shower you with the candy of your choice and rainicorns! And give you a cookie! A virtual one that is c: Hint: I am six years younger than AJ! Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Heh c; ~Keelan**


	11. Chapter 11

**I LIIIIIIIIVE! School took over my life and I've finally caught up on all my shows and all I can say is this: OMG ARE THE WRITERS TRYING TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK WITH THAT NCIS: LA FINALE!? HAVE THEY BEEN CONSULTING MOFFAT!? I SPENT THE BETTER PART OF AN HOUR CRYING IN A FETAL POSITION IN MY BED AND NOBODY UNDERSTOOD WHYYYYY! I AM NO LONGER A FUNCTIONING HUMAN BEING! I THINK I REQUIRE INSTITUTIONALIZATION! I NEED TO BE HELD! *ugly sobs***

**Don't worry, I've not been neglecting my writings, I've just neglected to type everything up. But the semster is over and once I'm functional I will type ALL the things! Oh, how I missed all of you! *bear hugs***

* * *

Early morning LA sunshine poured through the open windows and cast long, soft shadows onto the opposite wall. A warm breeze carried in the smell of freshly cut grass and flowers that were in full bloom and the only sound that could be heard was long, deep breaths. They were the calm, even breaths of someone deeply asleep. Kensi could not help but watch the gentle rise and fall of her partner's chest as he slept. For someone so lazy, he was very much toned. She had taken notice before but never like this; she watched each muscle contract under his tanned skin, both the result of his countless hours of early morning surfing. That was about the only time he ever did anything. On occasion she scolded him for his sloth but he just laughed it off with some witty retort or cheeky remark that bordered on harassment. She would reply with some sort of threat to injure his person and she usually carried out said threat when he continued egging her on. It was a never ending cycle but she enjoyed their banter and she knew he did, too.

The sound of the neighbor's truck caused Deeks to stir but it was not enough to wake him. Hardly anything woke him before ten o'clock on a Saturday and this day was no exception to that. A smile crossed her face when she caught sight of his ridiculous grin; even in his sleep he wore that stupid grin. Kensi rolled onto her stomach, inched closer to him, and just stared at him.

"You know it's creepy when you do that," he said without opening his eyes.

"You love it," Kensi said planting a kiss on his scruffy cheek and scrunching her face when it tickled her nose.

"Not really," he said, rolling onto his side so he faced her.

Kensi scooted closer so that she was just inches from his face. "Liar," Kensi jested. She saw the corners of his mouth twitch ever so slightly as he fought back a smile.

"I never lie," he said firmly kissing her lips and rolling her onto her back.

"That's your biggest lie yet," she chuckled when they separated. He kissed her again this time drawing her in so there was no space between them.

"I vote for a lazy Saturday," he said flipping onto his back ans stretching. "What say you?" Kensi lay her arms across his belly, rested her head on his chest, and sighed. "Lazy Saturday it is then." Kensi smiled up at him and smiled as he wrapped his arm around her and rubber her shoulder. "I love you, Kensi" he said softly.

"I love you, too," she said. Nestling her head in his chest, she tightened her grip on him and took a deep breath. She shut her eyes and listened to the familiar lub-dub of his heart as his chest rose and fell with each breath. Eventually, she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and she drifted back to sleep.

Kensi woke with a start when she felt someone gently shake her shoulder. She must have overreacted in some way because the person took a step back and raised her hands as if to say, "I come in peace." "Miss," said the nurse. "You've been in here for a long time. Would you like to get some food or something to drink?"

"No, thanks," Kensi said wiping the sleep from her eyes. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" The nurse looked at her with a mix of concern and sympathy. When Kensi nodded, the nurse added, "At least let me get you a reclining chair and a pillow to make you more comfortable." Kensi could tell that this nurse was not going to give up any time soon so she accepted her offer, albeit begrudgingly, and waited for the nurse to return.

Sitting in the recliner didn't make Kensi any more comfortable. In fact she was more uncomfortable than before. Since the chair didn't fit next to the bed she had to sit along the wall and that made her partner look worse than than he actuslly was. His normally tan face seemed drained of all color and his strong body looked weak and small. There was an oxygen line coming out of his nose and an IV line in his arm. To top it off, he had telemetry leads coming from his chest that connected to a what looked like a giant battery pack in the pocket of his hospital gown and another tube coming out of his mouth. He looked like a test subject from a sci-fi movie.

After a few minutes of sitting in the recliner, Kensi got up and went back to her original position beside Deeks' bed and stared at his face. When he grimaced, most likely from pain, she took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "You made me a promise, Deeks," Kensi whispered as she watched his face relax. "I swear to God if you break that promise..." She left her threat hanging in the air. "You promised, Deeks." Kensi leaned on the bed and rested her head in her arms, her hand still holding his, and hoped she could return to her dream.

* * *

***starts hyperventilating* I don't think I'm going to make it through this hiatus, guys. Maybe I'll fill up on fics. Or cry. Probably both. SO MANY FEEELSSSS! SO MANY FINALES! A GIRL CAN ONLY TAKE SO MUCH! Also, why is Tiva not canon yet?! #giantsquidofanger**

**I've got lots of stuff on the back-burner but this short, fluffy shtuff came up after I watched the finale and I just had to post. I'll get around to editing and finishing everything. Give me time. DFTBA**


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